Don't Leave Home Without it....
Written: Aug 02 '01 (Updated Aug 03 '01)
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Pros: Excellent pictures, compact, stainless steel, stitch function, compact flash, takes quicktime movies
Cons: Pricey, comes only with 8MB flash, no case or AC adapter
The Bottom Line: Sleek, compact and packed with functions.
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| andruzzo's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S300 / IXUS 300 Digital Camera |
I've been keenly watching the digital camera market ever
since the first bulky poor quality cameras came out. Two
things were missing right from the beginning: small size
and high quality pictures.
Who better to deal with these two issues than Canon.
One of the most trusted names in picture 'quality' and
the leader in 'small' cameras (such as the ELPH series).
When I saw this S300, I realized I had finally found a
camera that I would be happy with. It's small enough
to fit in my pocket and the quality of the pictures
is EXCELLENT.
After I bought this camera, I went to Europe for 3 weeks.
What can I say, this camera went everywhere with me on my
trip. I took it to the beach, hiking, mountain climbing
and it even came along with me every night when I went out.
Its' compact size and its stainless steel case assures
you that it won't be a nuisance. It also becomes quite
the conversation piece! People flock around to see the
captured image and you wouldn't believe what people will
do in front of a camera...just so they can see themselves
on the LCD monitor.
Before I left for my trip I didn't get a chance to take
any test photos and download and print. When I got
back, the first thing I did was download all my pictures
to my hard drive. The quality of these pictures is astounding! The shots are crystal clear and the colors
vibrant. Even the night shots turned out excellent.
For such a tiny flash, it's actually quite powerful, and
more than adequate for shots within 20 feet or so.
Packed in its small frame are a whole bunch of options
and camera settings. You can adjust flash settings, white balance, macro and telephoto settings. The menus and buttons are very easy to use and quite intuitive. The camera allows 3 levels of compression and 3 different
image sizes. The camera is 2.1 megapixel which means
that the largest picture it can take is 1600X1200, which
is more than adequate for almost everybody.
Two function worth noting are the movie setting and the
stitch setting. The movie setting allows you to shoot
quicktime videos at 2 different resolutions including audio.
However, I think my favorite function is the 'stitch' mode.
This mode allows you to take slightly overlapping pictures
of a scene (up to 26), which when downloaded can be
'stitched' together by the supplied Canon software. This
is the ultimate tool for taking breathtaking shots of
landscapes. Imagine a 360 degree 1600X1200 image of
your favorite place! What's impressive is that the
actual stitching is usually completely unnoticeable!
The camera is easily connected to your computer via USB and
installation of drivers and supporting software is a cinch.
There's also jacks to connect the camera via A/V outputs
to a TV or a VCR.
One other nice thing is that there is a water resistant
case available for the camera, which allows you to
go as deep as 100 feet in the water! Okay, it may be a pricey accessory but it's good to know that it's available and that your camera truly can go everywhere with you.
Of course, with the good come some bad. The biggest problem
with this camera, in my opinion, is that Canon only supplies
an 8MB compact flash card. That's ridiculous. The day
after I got the camera, I ordered two 128MB flash cards.
The result was that on the 3 cards that I now had, I was
able to store over 1100 images at 1024X768 at fine resolution. I also found out that there are now 256MB flash cards available and soon there will be a 512MB.
Another problem, or at least oversight, is that Canon
does not supply a case. It might be personal preference
but I don't think it's a good idea to travel anywhere with
this camera unless its in a protective case. Just
for the simple fact that you could scratch the stainless
steel body or even worse, the LCD display.
Some people think that the battery life is too short. But
I disagree. My battery would last the whole day without
problems, and that was with moderate use of the LCD display
for playback. Of course, I had an extra battery always
for backup, and I would suggest that to everyone....no matter what digital camera you buy.
All in all, I'm very impressed with this camera. For the
price you can get other digital cameras with 3.3 megapixels
and greater zoom....but it won't be as small and as stylish as this S300.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 550
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Epinions.com ID:
andruzzo
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 9 members
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